While work has already begun on the Ballston Common Mall redevelopment— anyone who’s driven by the former Macy’s furniture store recently has seen it in various stages of demolition — the Arlington County Board cleared the way Tuesday night for the project's public funding.

The board voted, 5-0, to create the county’s first-ever community development authority and approve up to $55 million in public financing for the mall, including nearly $11 million in direct investment.

Of that direct funding, $4 million will go to construction of a new pedestrian bridge to the mall over Wilson Boulevard. Any cost overruns on that bridge will be the responsibility of Forest City Washington, the developer on the project.

The county board also on Tuesday saw an updated design concept for the bridge. The existing bridge is slated to be closed in October. The new bridge will be relocated slightly to the east to allow for a more open plaza entryway to the mall. It will open with the mall in 2018.

The remainder of the county’s funding share comes in the form of bonds issued by the community development authority to be issued later this fall. Those bonds represent Arlington’s first use of tax-increment financing, or tax revenues created by the project above and beyond a pre-redevelopment threshold. The county also negotiated a “lookback agreement,” which requires the developer to make cash payments to the county if it surpasses certain financial performance thresholds — either through the sale of the property or through the mall’s operating income.

This step means that work will now begin in earnest on the redevelopment, which includes turning the mall from an entirely interior-facing traditional mall into Ballston Quarter, a more open-air shopping center with more than 5,000 square feet of public space, restaurants that open onto Wilson Boulevard, and cafe seating along the new plaza.

While Forest City has not announced any major new tenants yet, it is previewing Quarter Market, an “experiential food hub” that will combine eat-in dining, prepared food sales and market elements. (From the renderings, we’re thinking along the lines of a Union Market.)

The project also includes a new 409-unit residential tower on the former site of the Macy’s furniture store on the corner of Wilson Boulevard and Randolph Street. Ballston Quarter is expected to open September 2018, and the residential building expects to begin leasing in late 2018.